The Cartographers’ Guild is a forum created by and for map makers and aficionados, a place where every aspect of cartography can be admired, examined, learned, and discussed. Our membership consists of professional designers and artists, hobbyists, and amateurs—all are welcome to join and participate in the quest for cartographic skill and knowledge.

Although we specialize in maps of fictional realms, as commonly used in both novels and games (both tabletop and role-playing), many Guild members are also proficient in historical and contemporary maps. Likewise, we specialize in computer-assisted cartography (such as with GIMP, Adobe apps, Campaign Cartographer, Dundjinni, etc.), although many members here also have interest in maps drafted by hand.

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lost traveller

Hi everyone

I'll keep it short. As a kid I use to draw fantasy maps of islands and cities, but at some point they were all thrown away (something I still regret).
I still enjoy looking at maps when travelling or just whenever I'm bored. When I got into roleplaying I decided to create my own maps for support, and as a player I was the one making maps of the dungeon.
I have created two settings so far. Mostly just a small part of the world, focussing on one particular nation where everything happens. Now I want to make a third, and actually combine the three to cover a bigger setting. Feedback and tips are very useful, so that's why I signed up.
My maps are mainly for personal use in game sessions, but I prefer to have them look like old maps found in some dusty library. For my first setting I drew the maps by hand, then scanned them and added legenda with Photoshop. When I made the second setting I only had my laptop and no drawing tools, so I made the maps with Gimp and then used Photoshop to add legenda.
When I look at some of the maps here then I think mine are still very amateuristic. Your maps are peaces of art! My ultimate goal is to make maps that resemble the ones from the 16th/17th century, especially the city maps like from the Braun/Hogenberg Cities of the World (got this books two years ago, and it's beautiful!)

Welcome! Map-making for games is always so exciting! Being able to take my own mental images and put them down on paper/in Photoshop is very rewarding. My maps are also a bit cartoon-y by comparison to those found here, but I'm learning. I've found a lot of good information in the tutorials section and I hope you will too.

Welcome to the Guild Rincewind! You are in good company, many of us are in the midst of similar projects. You should post some examples of your hand drawn stuff over in the finished maps section, we'd love to see them. Also, there are some great tutorials on how to create maps digitally over in the tutorials section. Look forward to seeing you around.